PURCELLVILLE, VAHSLDA attorneys and legal staff receive hundreds of calls each week. Here are a few of the contacts we helped our members resolve last week.

Arkansas—HSLDA defended a family against an over-zealous social worker who insisted that if a child suffering a scratched elbow in a minor bicycle accident was not brought to the emergency room, she would remove the child from the family's home.

Indiana—When a social worker and a county prosecutor's investigator showed up at a member's door insisting that they register their home school program, HSLDA immediately contacted the social worker to explain that Indiana law does not require any such registration.

Louisiana—A Caddo Parish family who recently started home schooling their autistic son were surprised when the juvenile court notified them that a complaint had been filed against their son for failing to attend school. Retaining a local attorney to defend the family, HSLDA negotiated with the court, explaining that the young man was not dropping out of school but was being home schooled. Consequently, the school district dropped the charges.

Missouri—The D family received a subpoena from the local prosecuting attorney, requiring them to submit records relating to their home schooling program. HSLDA is defending them in court.

Pennsylvania—The superintendent for the Panther Valley school district recently contacted a family, requiring that they meet with public school officials to discuss the portfolios for the 1999-2000 school year. Since the family had handed these in almost a year ago, and there is no requirement that the parents meet with the school officials, HSLDA informed the superintendent that the family would not be meeting with them.

Texas—Because her son was being harassed and was not doing well in his studies, an HSLDA member and single mother living in the Lake Dallas area removed her son from public school. The decision was beneficial: home schooling enabled the young man to focus on his studies without distraction. Unfortunately, the school district did not recognize this mother's parental right to home school her son and filed truancy charges. But when HSLDA immediately intervened, the district agreed to drop the charges.